meatless mondays

eggs!

good morning. we hope you've enjoyed a glorious weekend.  i'm thinking we've got a lot of hard boiled eggs on our hands out there. here, well there are always lots of eggs from maggie's farm.  we sell them and we eat a lot of them and find they make it so easy to make meatless meals delicious and satisfying. they cover a multitude of culinary 'sins', not the least of which is the ability to camoflauge the healthy, but not exactly adored (like say, mustard greens,or tofu, for some).  i didn't realize just how much i loved eggs until i started raising chickens. our's are free range hens whose diets include grasses, grains, bugs and worms, fresh veggie scraps, (and the occasional tomato plant) which produces a rich and full-flavored egg that satisfies so well that a poached egg and a piece of home baked toasted bread is the most glorious breakfast of all.  imagine how thrilled we were to hear that undeservedly,  eggs had actually been given a bit of a bad nutritional rap, afterall. 

  

right about now, your gardens and your produce departments should be teeming with greens.  greens of every kind!  spinach, cabbages, chard, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, sorrel, watercress, lettuces, it's green all over!  so packed with nutrients that every diet should include at least one serving every day.  eggs and greens are great companions, and add the yummy goodness of potatoes and a little cheese and you're on your way to a nutritious, delicious, hunger-busting, seasonal meal that takes advantage of the bounty of the season. 

spring bounty gratin with egg, potato, and greens

ingredients

for sauce

3T all purpose flour

2 and 1/2 c 2% milk, divided

1 and 1/2 c of your favorite cheese (grated swiss or goat cheese are our favorites)

2t dry mustard

cayenne pepper (optional) and salt, to taste

for casserole

6 hardboiled eggs, chopped

8 c greens of your choice, rinsed and trimmed

2 c boiled fingerling potatoes, chunked

1/2 c finely chopped sweet onion (or more, if you're an onion lover)

1/2-1 c additional cheese, for topping

vegan adjustments: you can substitute coconut milk for cow's milk, firm tofu for boiled eggs, silken tofu with nutritional yeast for the cheeses in the sauce, and either a 'chreezy substitute' for, nutritional yeast alone, or omit the cheese topping.

preparing sauce

whisk flour with 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. heat the remaining milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. add the flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 4 minutes. remove from the heat; stir in cheese, dry mustard, cayenne (if using) and salt. (for more hints for making a perfect cheese sauce, visit this article on allrecipes.com)

preparing casserole

combine eggs, greens, and potatoes in casserole dish. gently blend in cheese sauce.  correct seasonings.  top with remaining cheese. cover with foil.

bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until bubbly.  remove foil and allow cheese to lightly brown.  remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  serve warm.  serves 6.

you might take advantage of the freshest of lettuces this season by serving this casserole alongside a salad of lettuce, scallions, herbs, and sweet peas, with a buttermilk dressing.  now that makes for a fresh and fabulous, seasonal meal.

from maggie's farm free range, organically-raised eggs

4./dozen

the keeper of the flock

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thank you for dropping by today!